Lockheed Salmon - $$4.95

The American Lockheed XFV (sometimes referred to as the Salmon) was an experimental tailsitter prototype built by Lockheed to demonstrate the operation of a vertical takeoff and landing fighter for protecting convoys.

Lockheed XFV Salmon downloadable cardmodel

Lockheed XFV-1 Salmon VTOL

The US Navy and the USAF had issued VTOL study contracts as early as 1947, and in 1950 the Navy held a competition to produce a VTOL fighter with conventional flight performance which could compete favorably with contemporary fighter aircraft.

The XFV-1 was one resulting design, with a bulky forward fuselage housing a turboprop engine driving a pair of 16 ft. contra-rotating propellers, and a gimbal-mounted seat for the pilot allowing 45 deg. of swivel. The XFV-1 was named the after the chief engineering test pilot, Herman "Fish" Salmon. Neither he nor "Skeet's" Coleman, who tested the rival Convair XFY-1, particularly liked the powerful turboprop providing the only means of control in VTOL mode.

It meant that descent rate on landing could only be slowed by jiggling the throttle and trying to time the lag until the engine responded.

For initial flight tests the XFV-1 was fitted with a temporary conventional fixed undercarriage, and with this made its first flight in March 1954. Transition to hovering flight was achieved at least once.

Along with large and regular sized versions, his kit includes a downloadable set of "training wheels".

What people say...

Thank you to you and the good people at Fiddler's Green for this SALMON.

I knew "Fish" Salmon also, his son Randy "Scooter" and I worked together to get our Flight Instructor ratings at Van Nuys Airport in California. We were active volunteers as pylon judges and timers for the Professional Race Pilots Association for the Mojave Air Races. Both Fish and Randy are gone now. Lots of fond memories. Thanks,....Bob

Download complete and successful. What a Wake-up call this morning! Waiting for me on the 'net it was. Just as you said. I cannot call the "Salmon" a real cutie, but your model certainly is. Again, the drawings on the instruction sheet are clear and will be a big help. And thank you for the optional conventional landing gear. Thanks again. JT

Lockheed XFV-1 Salmon VTOL

The Lockheed XFV-1 was an experimental
vertical takeoff aircraft of the 1950s. It was a result of a proposal
issued by the Navy in 1948 for an aircraft capable of vertical
takeoff and landing (VTOL) aboard platforms mounted on the afterdecks
of conventional ships. In 1950, this requirement was revised to
call for a research aircraft capable of eventually evolving into
a VTOL ship-based convoy escort fighter. On April 19, 1951, two
prototypes were ordered from Lockheed under the designation XFO-1.
The company designation was Model 081-40-01. Serials were BuNo
138657 and 138658. A similar aircraft was also ordered from Convair
under the designation XFY-1.

Work on the project began in August of
1950. Soon after the contract award, the designation was changed
to XFV-1, when the manufacturer's code for Lockheed was changed
from O to V. The XFV-1 sat on its tail for landings and
takeoffs. It had a short and squat fuselage with tapered broad-chord
short span wings with pods at the extreme tips. The aircraft sat
on the runway in the vertical position, resting on equal-span
cruciform tail surfaces, each having a fully-castoring strut and
wheel at their tip. At takeoff, the engines ran up to full power
and the aircraft ascended vertically, then when it reached a safe
altitude it gradually
nosed over into conventional horizontal flight. At landing, the
aircraft approached the landing pad while pitched up into a nose-high
position and then descended to the ground under gradually reduced
power.

The XFV-1 was powered by a Allison YT40-A-6
turboprop (which consisted of a pair of coupled T38 turbines)
driving a pair of three-bladed contra-rotating 3-bladed propellers
in the nose. The engine offered a power of 5500 shp. The air intakes
for the engines were on the edges of the forward fuselage, and
the exhaust was on the bottom of the rear fuselage. The single
pilot sat underneath a cockpit canopy which slid toward the rear.
Entry to or exit from the cockpit required a special ladder, and
was by all accounts was rather awkward.

The first prototype (Bruno 138657) was
ready by late 1953. Since the XT40-A-6 engine was deemed
not sufficiently powerful for sustained vertical flight, the aircraft
was first flown in conventional horizontal mode. For this, a temporary
non-retractable undercarriage with long braced V legs was attached
to the fuselage, and fixed tail wheels were attached to the lower
pair of fins. In this form, the aircraft was trucked out to Edwards
AFB in November of 1953 for ground testing and taxiing trials.
During one of these tests, at a time when the aft section of the
large spinner had not yet been fitted, test pilot Herman "Fish"
Salmon managed to taxi the aircraft past the liftoff speed, and
the aircraft made a brief hop on December 23, 1953. It would be
several months before the engine was ready for the first official
flight, which finally took place on June 16, 1954.

Full VTOL testing awaited the availability
of the 7100 shp YT40-A-14. Unfortunately, this engine never materialized,
and the XFV-1 never actually made any vertical takeoffs or landings.
However, it did make a few transitions in flight from the conventional
to the vertical flight mode and back, and had briefly held in
hover at altitude. All flights at Edwards AFB were made with the
lightweight spindly undercarriage.

In the meantime, delays in the development
of the T40 engine had caused the Navy to change its mind and to
downgrade the XFV-1 to a pure research vehicle, since its top
speed was now too slow for a fighter. In June of 1955 the program
was cancelled. After cancellation, the first XFV-1 was delivered
to Hiller Helicopters of Palo Alto, California for ground testing.
The second aircraft (Bruno 138658) was sent to NAS Los Alamitos where it was used
as a gate guard. The first XFV-1 was donated to the San Diego
Aerospace Museum.

The proposed production version was designated
FV-2 (Model 181-43-02) and was to have been powered by the T54-A-16
turboprop, and was to have had a bullet-proof windshield, armor,
and radar in the fixed forward part of the nose spinner. The proposed
armament was four 20-mm cannon fitted in the two wingtip pods.
Alternatively, 48 2 3/4-inch folding-fin rockets could be fitted.

The US Navy had long held an interest
in the VTOL aircraft. Both they and the USAF had issued VTOL study
contracts as early as 1947, and in 1950 the Navy held a competition
to produce a VTOL fighter with conventional flight performance
which could compete favorably with contemporary fighter aircraft.
The XFV-1 was one resulting design, with a bulky forward fuselage
housing a turboprop engine driving a pair of 16 ft. (4.88 M.)
contra-rotating propellers, and a gimbal-mounted seat for the
pilot allowing 45 deg. of swivel. The cruciform tail unit ended
with castoring tail-wheels. The XFV-1 was named the Salmon
after the chief engineering test pilot, Herman "Fish"
Salmon. Neither he nor "Skeet's" Coleman, who tested
the rival Convair XFY-1, particularly liked the powerful turboprop
providing the only means of control in VTOL mode.

It meant that descent rate on landing
could only be slowed by jiggling the throttle and trying to time
the lag until the engine responded. For initial flight tests the
XFV-1 was fitted with a temporary conventional fixed undercarriage,
and with this made its first flight in March 1954. Transition
to hovering flight was achieved at least once. The program was
cancelled before vertical takeoff, with the proposed 7,100 hp
T40-A-14 engine, could be attempted.